Pomperaug's rally comes up short

But while their additional storybook act extended the game to overtime, it couldn't extend Pomperaug's season to the semifinals of the state Class III playoffs.

After rallying from 10 points down in the final six minutes of regulation, the Panthers were limited to one last-second field goal in overtime as they dropped a 64-61 decision to top-seeded and undefeated Coventry in a quarterfinal game at Bristol Eastern High.

Pomperaug, which began the season with a 24-game losing streak and was seeded No. 24, somehow found a way in this Class III tournament to upend No. 9 Windham on the road in the first round, then return home to knock off hallowed Wilbur Cross of New Haven in the second round.

In taking on Coventry, the champions of the Charter Oak Conference. Pomperaug trailed by 52-42 with under six minutes remaining regulation, but outscored the Patriots 13-3 down the stretch to force the extra session.

Had Pomperaug (11-12) taken more of an advantage of a technical fouled called on Coventry guard Rich Stevenson with 1:53 left in the fourth quarter, this game might never had reached OT.

Pomperaug might well have won it in regulation.

But missed foul shots and turnovers in the final seconds of regulation proved costly, and Coventry (24-0) finally pulled away late in overtime, with Mike Buckler's 3-pointer with 61 seconds left giving the Patriots the lead for good at 60-58.

"Our guys laid it all out there; that's all I could ask for," said Pomperaug coach Tim Lynch.

"But we missed some shots in key spots. It wasn't for the lack of effort. We just missed some shots. This wasn't our best game. I'm sure our guys would agree. That's what's disappointing. I think we can play better. I know we can play better."

Coventry advances to the Class III semifinals in a match-up that only the CIAC's new playoff formula for boys basketball could produce: a game between a team from the tiny COC in rural eastern Connecticut and a team from the mighty FCIAC, Fairfield Ludlowe. The two will meet on Tuesday at a site to be determined.

The Coventry victory also produced another curious tidbit: Coventry coach Matt Hurlock is now 47-0 as a head coach in this school calendar year. He led the Coventry volleyball team to a 23-0 record last fall and to the championship of the state Class S tournament.

Pomperaug, however, made Coventry worked extra hard for this victory, as it rallied to force overtime after trailing by 52-42. Brian McDonald's three-point play started the comeback, and the rally also included a three-point play from guard Dave Piccolo and 5-of-6 foul shooting by Jeff Langrock.

With Pomperaug down by one with 1:53 to play, a foul against Coventry's Mark Borysevicz and the technical against Stevenson gave the Panthers the chance for six points - they maintained possession of the ball - and a possible four-point lead.

Though Langrock made three of the four foul shots in the sequence, giving his team a 55-53 lead, Pomperaug turned the ball over immediately afterward. Buckler's two foul shots with 76 seconds remaining in the fourth tied the game at 55; Coventry had four shots at the basket in the closing seconds, but missed all four.

"Right now, it's very disappointing, because we had our chances to win this game," said Piccolo. "A couple of us missed big shots in key situations. But hopefully, we'll be back. With only one senior on the team, I think we have a lot of potential. This was a great experience for everyone."

Pomperaug forced Coventry into 16 second-half turnovers after the Patriots had turned the ball over just five times in the first half. The pressure was the greatest when the Pomperaug deficit grew to 10 points midway through the fourth quarter.

"What we really tried to do is pick up our defense some more in full-court," said Lynch. "I didn't want to do it all game because I thought (Coventry) could hurt us, but I thought we could be selective and keep the ball out of the point guard (Stevenson's) hands. The more we could keep it out of his hands, the more I thought some of those other guys were prone to turnovers."

As for the season as a whole, Lynch said: "I told our kids the big thing was, they did it themselves. They turned this around. A lot of times the coach gets credit for turning a team around but these kids are the ones who put in the time and the effort in the off-season and made themselves better. Everyone one of them was a lot better player this season and that's why the team was a lot better."